Welcome to Murder Inc
by Floppster
Summary: After Nick saved Judy from killing herself, Judy is left with finding a way to go on with her life. And with the Nick's help her dreams don't seem too far away. (This is a continuation of Live and Let live)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Disney, least of all Zootopia (yet)

Author's Note: This is a continuation of my story Live and Let live. Read that one first.

* * *

After having been saved from despair Judy Hopps finds herself alone with the unknown predator who just prevented her from making an irreversible mistake. That being said, she still known nothing about her newfound savior and so they go on as time never stands still.

"Feeling better?" Asked the fox as he stood back up, lifting the young bunny up at the same time,before genly placing her back on her paws.

Judy had to admit, she felt better, a lot better. Because somehow having a shoulder to cry on had made all the difference. Finding someone who understood made her feel as if she wasn't alone.

It made her feel like, for the first time in her life, someone would actually be on her side.

"Yes, but I still have no idea what to do." Mumbled Judy as she started wiping at the wet fur around her eyes.  
Crying had never felt so liberating, but that didn't mean that she didn't look like a complete mess now that she was done.

The fox grabbed a duffle bag which Judy had not seen him carry, back when he had picked her up.  
But she assumed that she must have simply overlooked it in the heat of the moment.  
When in fact he had simply dropped it before he even grabbed her.

He turned towards the guardrail and looked at the raging river below while the sun seemed to make his red fur glisten.  
"I assume that was a question directed at me?" He asked as he took a look at his watch.

Despite the fact that he was not looking at her, Judy nodded.

She wanted his input.  
How had he gone on after what had happened to him.  
How could she go on now that she was at this point?

She just felt as if he was the one mammal she could trust to help her out. To find a new way to tackle life. Because he had already done so once.

"Yes," she said once she realized that her nodding would not be noticed,"what am I supposed to do now after noone wants me the way I am?"

A chuckle came from the red fox as he turned back around towards her.  
"What is it you want then? You still haven't told me after all."

She felt her chest tighten up.  
Everyone always made fun of her as soon as she mentioned the fact that she wanted to be a cop. That she wanted to make the world a better place.

But making the world a better place was the one of the two options which sounded far more acceptable compared to becoming a beat cop.  
And despite the fact that she wanted to put her trust in this fox, she wanted his help too much to risk scaring him off now.  
So starting of with this part of her dream did not seem to unreasonable.

"I wanted to make the world a better place." Answered Judy finally and she closed her eyes wating for the laugh that was inevetably going to come from the fox before her.

But it never came, instead she felt a big paw with rough pawpads pat her on the head.  
"That doesn't sound too bad." The fox stated matter of factly. "A little bit idealistic, but nothing entirely unheard of."

She opened her eyes again just in time to see the fox put both paws into his pockets.  
And for the first time Judy actually focused on the fox before her in detail.  
He was wearing black cargo shorts and a matching dark red dress shirt with a weird bird shaped tribal pattern filling out the whole right side.  
The bird portrayed seemed to be some kind of paradise bird, one she had never seen before.  
Maybe it was even made up, who knew.  
He had matched his shirt with a black tie with dark grey dots on it which, from a distance were barely even visible, but still there.  
The tie itself was loosely secured around his neck in a way she would have called lazy.

It looked somewhat off to her and she wondered if this was some sort of new fashion trend from Zootopia that was still unknown to her as a mere farm bunny.  
The big city was an everchanging wonder after all. There was no way that an outsider like her could keep up.

Just as she finished her observation, the fox looked her directly in the eyes once more.  
"There has to be more to this than just that right?" He asked in a more demanding tone than before.

Judy swallowed hard, she had been found out. This, at least in hindsight, was no real surprise considering that the strange fox before her had been reading her like a book right from the start.  
She nodded once more and used this as an opportunity to break eye contact.  
"Yeah...I actually had a more concrete plan than just that." Her words were forced to the point that her voice was wavering.  
She had come to a point where she hated talking about her dream. But she had to if she wanted his help, she just felt it deep down in her heart.

And so for the first time in a while she actually muttered the words she had once proudly presented o everyone who had asked her. "I wanted to be a cop you see." She spoke the real fast as if to make the shame she already associated with them last just that little bit shorter as her eyes were glued to her feet.

What followed was an eerie silence as only the only the river dared to make itself known through its thunderous gurgling below.  
And for a moment Judy wondered if she had gone too far.  
So she raised her eyes again to find a fox who seemed very much in deep though.  
He took a few more moments before he actually finally answered and his words took a heavy burden of her chest.  
"I see, that is quite the ambitious dream you have there, carrots. But...if you work hard and make a big enough impact you might even be able to achieve it."

Her jaw literally dropped when she heard him speak these words as if they were normal. It shocked her so much in fact that she even completely overlooked the demeaning nickname.  
"What do you mean I might even be able to achieve it?" She asked in full disbelief. "Aren't you going to say how it is completely impossible for me to become a cop?"

The question was burning in her mind. Never had anyone ever actually said this to her.  
After looking at his watch one more time he smiled at her,"let me walk you home and we can talk on the way there, alright?"

She nodded once more and when she realized that he was waiting for her to take the lead she started walking towards the place she called home, the Hopps carrot farm.

A short while after they had started walking the fox continued their discussion.  
"You are right, it is almost impossible. You would have to change the laws which prevent mammals below a certain size from becoming police officers in the first place and you would need to find a way to actually make them hire you once they are allowed to do so by distinguishing yourself."

He paused and crossed his paws behind his back. "But I have certainly heard of stranger things. And while I wouldn't suggest that you actually try to do this. As it will probably only hurt you and waste your precious time, I can't very well stop you, can I?"

Now it was her turn to think. He was right, there were laws in place which were preventing her from even applying as a cop. Not to mention the fact that the ZPD could turn her application down even if she was able to apply.  
And if she failed she would in fact have nothing left to do with her life.

"Then what else am I supposed to do?" She asked in a somber tone once she realized that he had only told her what she already knew. "It's not like I could settle for being a carrot farmer or anything like that after all that has happened."

She could see how the fox eyed her from the side as he said,"how about we make a deal?"

"A deal?" She asked somewhat confused.

He smirked and turned around while he was walking, thus facing her as he was walking backwards.  
"How about it? I help you become a mammal worthy of being in the ZPD. And if you do fail make a change! Turn yourself around and work for me instead."

There it was, she had understood his words before but she had actually wondered if he had meant what he had said just moments ago.

Just doing something else was something that had crossed her mind on multiple occasions before.  
It was actually thought about it a lot in those dark hours at night where sleep had evaded her.

The deal seemed simple enough, she would just have to work for the fox if she failed to join the ZPD.  
But then what?  
Could she really just give up her dream even if she failed?

That seemed really hard to pull off in her opinion. And where would she even begin? Not to mention that she would betray her own beliefs...the same beliefs which had brought her to a point where she wanted to throw herself from the next bridge.

Yeah, her beliefs had gotten her into this mess, maybe he was right. Maybe she was better off without them at that point.  
And this was a chance!  
The first she had gotten in what seemed like forever to the young doe.  
"So what do you suggest?" She asked with actual eager curiosity in her voice.

The fox sighed,"if you really have nowhere else to go...well...you could work with me once you are old enough and gain experience while I work on the whole recruitment law thing. Also it is only fair that you know that my work is somewhat...moraly ambiguous...so that is something you should consider as w..."

"I'll do it!" She threw the words in before he could finish his sentence.

He stopped where he stood and she almost ran into him as he gave her a concerned look.  
"Did you even listen to what I was saying?" He asked with just as much concern in his voice as there was in his eyes.

"Yes I have!" She answered brazenly. "You are not exactly the right guy to go to. But, you are willing to take me in once I am old enough. And more importantly you are willing to help me change that nasty law!"  
The whole idea of this deal sounded so exiting to her. And while past Judy would have never even considered something like this and probably called the cops on the old predator for making such suggestions to a young doe such as herself. Current Judy was a different mammal all together.  
The fox berfore her fascinated her almost as much as crimefighting had.

Not as much as crimefighting, that was for sure.  
But he seemed to be so experienced and strong to her. Someone she would be able to look up to until she reached her goal!

Someone who would catche her if she were to fall.

And she was ready to take a chance, for the mammal that had saved her...and for herself.

"So what kind of work are we talking about?" Asked the young bunny with increased eager.

The fox opposite of her took a deep breath before answering,"I am a private contractor of sorts, that is all I am able to tell you until you actually work for me."

This stung, she wanted to know now. She wanted to know how her future would look like if she stayed with her savior.  
But what he said made sense. She had heard about the mob and other big organizations that kept their involvement a secret at all times. Some to protect the interests of their clients, others because they usually operated in grey zones of the law.  
And from what she had heard these kinds of organizations were always closely knit togther and thus very secretive when it came to outsiders.

Knowing this though she shot back,"so what would I have to do to actually join you?"

The fox eyed her for a moment as if inspecting a precious piece of extravagant meat.  
"That depends on your commitment and what you want to do later on." Came his calm answer as he turned around and started walking again.  
And before she could ask he added,"but it would be best if you do a decent job in school and practise lots of sports in general."

She had a feeling that he would say something like this and so she asked for the thing that interested her specifically.  
"And if I want to do exactly the same thing that you do?"

"Martial arts would be a nice thing to have, parkour would serve you well too and if you read up on psychology, as well as mammal behaviours for different species that wouldn't hurt in the slightest. As for the more specific stuff?"

He gave another sigh and glanced at her with a calculating look in his eyes. "Let's just say that I will give you further instructions and personal training if you actually show me that you are taking this seriously. Aka, if you do well in sports and school, social skills are optional but they would be greatly appreciated as well."

The last point hit her offguard. Everything before that seemed easily achievable if she put enough effort into it.  
But mammal skills were not her forte, considering that most mammals made fun of her and she had long since stopped trying in this particular field.

How would she even go about that?

This question burned in her mind and it actually made her feel a bit helpless.

"Nevermind! Forget about social skills for now." Came the reassuring voice of her newfound savior from the side.  
"It is not that important for now. And I can teach your myself later on."

She nodded timidly,"that would be great."

The deep grumble of a vibrating phone interrupted them and the fox pulled an old flip phone out of his pocket before answering the call immediately.

He listened for a moment and Judy could barely hear the high pitched female voice on the other end of the line.  
She went on for a while and the fox just listened as they kept walking.

Then finally he spoke,"understood, will do! Tell the others that I am coming back to the city right away."

The voice on the other end of the line said something again and Judy wondered who the female on the other end of the line was to him.

"That so?" The fox asked retorically before adding in a tone dripping with sarcasm. "Not that he ever gets anything done without my help anyways."

Judy could hear the faint sound of laughter from the female on the other end of the line as the fox went on.  
"Tell him that I will work on the follow up as soon as possible."

After having said that he hung up and turned back to Judy.  
"Alright, I am sorry but duty calls and I need to get going!"

Judy had wondered how long he would stay and the thought of her new found savior and hopefully soon mentor made her feel sad.  
What if he never came back?

"Do you have a phone?" He asked while furiously tapping away on his own.

She nodded once more. Indeed she had, it was nothing special.  
In fact it was a flip phone just like his. But while she assumed that his was a burner or a momento of sorts. Her's was given to her by her parents and was cheap because she did not deserve better.  
At least that was what she chose to believe since some of her littermates had better phones already.

He reached out with his paw in a demanding manner as he was waiting for her to actually hand over her phone.

And without uttering a word or questionig him, she did.

He put away his own phone and started working on her phone with practised speed which she could only call incredible.  
And after what must have been just thirty seconds he gave back her phone.

"Call me once you are sure that you want this. This number will only work once so make sure that you have time and there are no doubts on your mind. The number will activate in six days so don't try before then."

With that he turned around and left.

Leaving her alone with her phone and her thoughts.  
His words had sounded like something straight out of a spy movie.  
For a few minutes she just stood there before she actually though of taking a look at her phone.

On the screen was a new contact, one of only five that she had in total.  
She had already started wondering if what she had experienced had been real at all, if she had really talked to this strange fox just moments ago.

But here it was, the only evidence she needed that a fox name Nick had been with her just moments ago.

If that was even his real name.

* * *

It took Judy another thirty minutes before she arrive home where much to her suprise total chaos seemed to reign, which was not unnormal in any way shape or form, it was the way everithing seemed chaotic.  
Older siblings were ushering their younger brothers and sisters into the burrow in a hectic manner and Judy was even more suprised her mother rushed towards her as soon as she was close enough to the burrow for her to be noticed.

"Judy dear! You are alright!" Said her mother with utter relief in her voice and Judy feared for a moment that she had been seen and found out.  
She managed to keep a straight face though as she asked,"mom, what is going on here?"

Her mother gave her a concerned look and only said,"just get inside my dear. Everything will be alright."

No matter how much and who she asked, she got not satisfactory answer as to why she and her siblings were to remain in the burrow.

* * *

If Judy had listened to the news the next day she would have known. But she was far too busy basking in the happy afterglow of the unbelievable meeting she had just the day before.

"...both bucks were shot in the back of the head in the middle of the street. The shots were precise and they were probably dead before they hit the ground." Reported the police officer after the radio moderator had asked him what had happened.

"And until now we still have no idea as to why this happened here in the burrows! And because of this we are still determining if there is any imminent danger for the average population. We thus urge all citizens to stay at home and wait until the situation has been properly resolved."

The reporter cleared his throat as he clearly was not comfortable with the subject at paw but he went on in a professional tone regardless, asking the question that was on every rabbits mind as they were listening.

"So is it true that the attacker was identified to be a fox?"

"I can not deny that witnesses have seen a red fox with a duffle bag near the crime scene shortly before the attack happened. However we cannot be sure at this point in the investigation that this individual is actually responsible for these two brutal murders."

The interview went on and ended without Judy ever knowing what had happened, shielded from the truth by her parents and older siblings. If she had heard, would she have figured out who had commited these atrocities?

Or rather how would her life have been different if she had know?

Would she have choosen a different path?

With the killers number securely sitting in her phone.

* * *

Authors Note:

Not much I can say to this is there?

This is not really the same genre as the "first chapter", but I wanted to write a story like this and the start was already there so I took it.(Yay more stories to write!)


	2. Down South

Six days passed by in a hurry for the very busy fox that was Nicholas Wilde.  
In fact he had almost forgotten the little bunny he had met after completing his job in the burrows.

The mammals he had killed had been extorting their own father, who just happened to have been an asset for the Pack.  
All their smuggling operations in the burrows ran through a network provided by the ambitious bunny.

And so when the higher ups had found out that internal strive threatened to compromise their operations on such a scale, well, that problem had swiftly been dealt with.

And that was that, over and out, the police was investigating a random fox who had gunned down two rabbits and noone would dare to disturb the grieving family.

So things would probably be alright on that front, especially since almost all of the burrow cops were on the Pack's payroll.

No the problem that had keep Nick up at night for the last few days had been a botched hit on a tinpot dictator down south in the area commonly known as the Desert Commonwealth.

No botched was not quite the right word.

One of his closest associates, by the name of Jack Savage, had been assigned to this hit and had been planning it for months.  
And as far as reports went, all had gone well, except for the fact that one of the dictators doubles had taken it upon himself to replace the old dirtbag.

This wouldn't have even been a problem in the slightest though.

If not for the fact that this double had started to crack down even harder on the mob drug operation in the area than his predecessor.

Now the commission was breathing down the necks of every member of Murder Inc. to get this particular problem in order, since they had created this problem in the first place.

Which lead Nick and some other members of his crew to assist Jack in his current endeavor.

So it happened that Nick was sitting by the window on the second floor of a dusty old appartment building with a heavy case in his lap which contained a control unit for a remote targeting system.  
This time they had spared no expense, he would hit the main target of their hit while the others took out the remaining two doubles, to prevent this from happening a second and possibly a third time.

The tablet in his paw displayed a live feed from the remotly controlled machinegun they had installed in another appartment building down the street.  
This particular weapon was most definitely overkill and most definitely the most expensive weapon Nick had and probably would ever operate, as it fired caliber .50 armor piecing bullets at sixhundred shoots per minute.

The Capitano, as the doubles former employer was known, was scheduled to parade through this part of the city today to show that he was indeed not dead, to pacify even the most doubtful citizens.  
And he would be accompanied by an entire army for this occasion.

Which in turn was the reason that this weapon was necessary in the first place.

Hitting the target with this kind of weapon was easy, and incredibly so, since the target had to stay out in public for the duration of the whole event.

But getting away afterwards was another problem entirely.

One which Nick hoped to solve by not having to flee at all.

He would simply hole up in the hidden basement below and wait the whole mess out until Jack came to pick him up.

The bored fox almost jumped out of his fur when his phone suddely started ringing.

The display showed a number he was not familiar with, so he cleared his throat and answered the call professionally.

"Wilde here, how can I be of service?"

He could hear a chuckle from the other side of the line and a muffled female voice tried to shush someone away.

Where had he heard that voice before?

"Ma'am are you still there?"

He inquired while his head went through all the important females inside the mob which could possess his number.

Meanwhile the voice from the other side answered hurriedly.

"Um..yes I am still here! Please don't hang up!"

And he remembered, this was the little bunny from the burrows.

"Don't worry, I won't. So who was that in the background?" He inquired to find out what kind of mammal was possibly listening in on their conversation.

"Just my..." He heard a grunt from the other end of the line and a light crashing noise. "...nosy sister, is all."

She then went on in a louder tone which was definitely not directed at him.  
"WHO SHOULD KNOW, that LISTENING to the conversations of OTHERS is rude."

The way she emphasised these words made Nick chuckle.

Something which did not go unnoticed by the bunny on the other end of the line.  
"Sorry, I can call you back later when she is not around and..."

"Don't worry too much." Nick had decided that it wouldn't matter too much and he had come to the conclusion that he indeed made the right choice back in the burrows, he wanted to help this little bunny as much as possible.

She reminded him of Jack when he was younger.  
The young doe had the same kind of goofy determination that his friend had. And just like him she also tended to overthink things.

"Instead, tell me how has your week been?" Asked Nick in an obvious attempt to steer the conversation away from the possible deadlock the bunny was trying to maneauver it into.

As expected, the young bunny was confused.  
"My week?!"

A smirk formed on Nick's muzzle,"sure."

"Uhmm...well...something happened in the town and we were not allowed to go outside for two whole days. And then I started running in the mornings, since you said that I need to do well in sports. And I looked up selfdefense courses and..."

The little bunny droned on for another five minutes. She sure had done a lot, mostly research to help her plan her way to the top. Her enthusiams and vigor were scary, to say the least.  
And Nick wondered if the little bunny was still the same little bunny from that bridge. Had his little intervention really changed that much already?

He could barely remember the days after he had met the boss. He knew that the boss had tried to get him to continue school and get an honest job.

But his younger self had been angry and hurt. And he could hazily remember how his younger self wanted to get back at the mammals who had treated him like a bug his entire life. Especially after he had tried his best to fit in...to do good.

Alcohol had been involved, he remembered as much, that had been his first contact with Finnick.

Sometimes he wondered what exactly had transpired back then, but he still remembered that there had been a huge ruckus and that his mother just died of shame after it had happened.

The boss had once told him that even with his lawyers, things had been rough. Which he know knew meant that things must have been almost beyond repair.

Nick had looked up the event years later when he found the courage to do so. And apparently he had stolen a handgun from the boss, or Finnick and killed two of the mammals who had muzzled him, in broad daylight.

His brain did it's best in shielding him, but that wasn't enough. It was after this event that the boss decided to take him in and made him into an enforcer.

A smile formed on his muzzle, even after all that had happened, the ups and downs, the pain and the gain, the secret glory and the infamy that clung to his name in the hidden circles of society, he was glad that things had gone the way they had.

Nick was sure that there was nothing in the world, which could mean as much as simply being in the Pack meant to him.

The young doe on the other line stopped her little report on her activities and Nick took his turn to talk.  
He told her that his week had been rather uneventful and how he was currently on a work related trip down south.  
This exited the young doe and she started bombarding him with questions.  
Most of which he dodged skillfully, while he answered choosen questions just satisfy her curiosity.

Time passed and Nick told the young doe to go through with the plans she had made.

At this point this was definitely the best option for both of them.

Nick was just about to tell the younger rabbit that if she couldn't get her parents to pay for selfdefence courses that he would chip in, knowing fully well that this could only benefit her in the future no matter where she ended up.  
When he heard he noise of a marching band passing by.

His eyes darted to the screen before him immediately.

It had begun, the first members of the parade had entered the street he had positioned himself in and things would get messy soon.

"...I am sorry but I need to hang up on you Carrots, duty calls!" Said Nick and he could not help but smirk when he heard her teeth grind a little as soon as he uttered the nickname, of which he had only grown more fond of during their little conversation.

Her reaction to his words was a much warmer "reaally?" which almost sounded like a soft whimper.  
She really still was a little kit.

Knowing this he cheerfully pressed on,"it sure does, I will call you in a week though to check on your progress, this is your number right?"

A quick "yes!", came from the other end of the line that sounded almost a little panicked.  
"Great I will call you soon, have a great week."

There was a not too cheerful, "you too" from the other end of the line and he hung up.

It was obvious that she did not like the fact that their conversation had been cut off so abruptly.  
But she would get over it, he was sure of it

He placed the phone on the windowsill and took a lo ok outside.

More mammals filled the street, the marching band was leading the parade with the military personel marching right behind them.

The full might of a dirty tinpot dictator at work, plain green uniforms coupled with weapons which made even the oldest of civilians on the sidewalk look young.

He was sure that some museum in Zootopia would have paid fine money for at least some of these antiques.  
This caused Nick to make a mental note to actually grab some for his way home, who knew maybe he could make a nice profit when he returned.

This way he would compensate for the losses that this operation made, at least a little bit.

More and more soldiers and now even vehicles entered the street.

Old tanks which were probably more rust than steel on the inside and jeeps which were just in good enough condition to be called oldtimers.

Flags were waving through the streets and the crowd cheered while Nick, up in his vantage point, entered the passcode into his monitor to unlock the controls of the maschinegun down the street.

He prayed that this would work, they had tested the weapon out in the desert...once...and there had been no stone walls between him and the weapon when he had controlled it back then.

A jam would be even more disastrous, not to mention emberassing.

Stripes would never let him live that one down if it happened.

Then it things finally got serious, the target came into his view, an old coyote in his full glory.

And a rather well fed coyote Nick had to say as his target was standing half inside, half outside a tank with his belly barely fitting into the hatch.  
The tank itself would have been the newest piece of equipment in the entire parade, it was probably ten to twenty years younger than it's brothers and sisters.  
However, something even newer had come into sight with the tank as it slowly rolled forward at walking pace.

The presidents personal guard, armed to the teeth with top notch weapons and bodyarmor.

A read scarf like collar marked them and at least twenty of these guards marched in perfect sync before the tank while just as many followed just behind the tank.

Meanwhile the 'president' was lazily waving at the mammals surrounding him. It was clear that his mind was not really one hundred percent commited to this display of power.

Nick could easily guess what had the newly appointed leader of the small nation so captivated, the possibility of being killed was too real to be ignored.

And not many mammals could deal with that sort of pressure. And even if they could, you can only put so much weight onto a table before it breaks.  
Mammals were essentially the same, some had an extreme tolerance and others were outright frail when it came to the dangers around them. Becoming strong enough to carry a burden that heavy was hard work and most mammals would break long before they managed to get to that point.

He was sure that 'El Capitano' here was not cut out to bear that pressure, if his movements were any indicator to go by.

Which was a shame since stronger mammals with power usually made for easier targets, as long as they thought themselves to be untouchable, they were not.

The tank with his target rolled past his house and Nick got one last good look at him before he concentrated on the screen before him.

About a minute more and the tank would be in the perfect position to be ambushed.

Nick gripped the joystick which controlled the gun harder and turned a key in the case which released the safety.

The weapon was now ready to fire, ready to rip his target and the mammals around him to shreds.

Just around twenty seconds more chimed Nick's internal clock.

And just as always his instinct was right, the tank reached the designated spot seventeen seconds later and the display before him showed the target waving right at the camera.

Nick chuckled, no better moment than this one...and all hell broke loose when he pushed the red button on the joystick.

The thunder of mashingun fire echoed through the busteling streets and was soon followed of the sound of metal piercing metal or hammering into the cobblestone street.

The tank stopped almost instantly and after the initial shock had passed fire was returned by the military in the streets.

Once he was sure that his target was a bloody pulp Nick used his remaining ammunition to cause havok among the soldiers.

He pushed the joystick forward and the muzzle of the mashinegun lowered quickly, causing some of the guards who noticed the movement in the hail of bullets raining down from the building before them and tried to duck into cover. While others were simply ripped to shreds by the bullets who were designed to shred metal rather than tissue.

Blood quickly tainted the streets and soon Nick ran out of bullets.

He sighed before closing the case before him and grabbing his phone.

More ammunition would have most certainly been a worthwhile investment, he could have killed some more hardliners and softened things up for his collegues in the region.

But he had run out and there was no changing that.

So he jumped onto his paws and made his way towards the first floor.

There he entered the bathroom and threw the case down the shute that was located beneath the bathtub.

A bathtub which was normally at ground level. Now however it was raised to reveal the ladder below which lead into his new hideout.

Nick took his place at the top of the ladder and pulled on the valve which was connected to the mechanism at the bottom of the tub.  
The tub was easily lowered and he made his way down as he pulled the tub back into it's normal position.

The mechanism which allowed the tub to be moved made a snapping noise as it locked into position, but Nick was not finished yet.  
He turned the valve anticlockwise and two steelbolts locked the construction firmly in place.

This way, even if someone were to accidentally find the switch to unlock the mechanism, there would still be no way to raise the tub from the outside.

Nick climbed down the last rungs of the ladder and pressed the light switch to his right.

A single old lightbulb flared up angrily after being woken from its long slumber.

The old bed at the very end of the room was his immediate destination after he had decided that a nap was a worthy reward for this job well done.

* * *

When he woke up Nick sighed as his first thoughts turned to the task at paw.

To make Carrots happy he had to make her able to join the ZPD, a monumental task, really.

How would he enforce a new law as ridiculous as this?

And more importantly how would he spin this to benefit the Pack?

It just had to, there was no way around it. He couldn't just ask for something like this without a good reason or someone owing him a favor.

Natually there were many mammals who did, but which one would have the power to move the neccessary pieces?

He needed someone to help him plan this all out.

Only one mammal came to mind and Nick couldn't help but sigh once more as he picked up his satellite phone.  
He entered the well known number and added the monthly changing end combination.  
The line crackled and the well known fast beeping sound started sounding while Nick made his way over to the only table in the room and slumped into the chair next to it.

There was another crack followed by a far softer silence and the familiar voice of his sister.

"Hey bro, whats up? I thought you were in the desert hunting fake coyotes."

Nick chuckled,"you are behind the times sis, we already finished that mess up."

"So I've heard. But then again I heard that one before." Came the smug reply he had waited for from the other end of the line.

"Sure, but that was when stripes was on the case, all by his lonesome if I might add. And we both know what that means."

A snort came from the other end of the line.  
"Modest as always I see, I will have you know that stripes has a better record than you do. Especially after what happened in Aruvana."

Nick flinched at the mere name of the place he had almost never left. A messy event indeed. The police had known and somehow that military had gotten involved. Even he himself was not quite sure what had happened back then, a complete and utter disaster.  
"We don't talk about that time."

There was a pause and he could hear his sister preparing herself for another jab at his ego so he deflected before she had the time to do so.

"I am calling you today because I need your expertise."

More silence, followed by a cautious question was all that followed his statement.

"What would you need a socialite like me for?"

"Do you know if we have any letherage with Chief Bogo?" Asked Nick, knowing that he had just revealed his intentions with one move. A mistake in negotiations, ususally, but the mammal he was negotiating with was his sister.

And he knew that he could trust her.

"Not that I know of...the boss might. But I am not quite sure." Jessica stated calmly. "More importantly what would you want with the chief of precinct one? We literally have dirt on almost every other high ranking cop in the city. Hell, Chief Whittecat used to run a prostitution racket for us before she became chief in precinct five."

Nick started to pound the claws of his free claw against the table as he went on.  
"I know, but I need political leverage and if Bogo makes a decision then the mayor will listen."

He heard another crack in the line and some clicking and clacking noises that sounded awfully like a computer being used.

"What are you even trying to do that requires this level political leverage?"

A little bit more of the clacking in the background could be heard and he was sure, his sister had already started working on his request.

"I mean, aren't you usually the guy who provides the leverage and removes any obstacles?"

Nick stopped his paw on the table and stared blankly into the the room.  
Yeah exactly, he was usually moving in the shadows. He was a soldier, a prime mover who would fulfill the wishes of his contractors faithfully.  
So why was he trying to do something that could get him entangeld with something as difficult as this...for what reward even?

It only took him a moment to think back to that moment on the bridge and then to that moment with the ranger scouts so many years before that.  
And he smirked, he would have given everything for the chance he wanted to provide for her, for a mammal that still had a chance.  
"I met a very special mammal not too long ago. And I made a promise to change the law which bans small mammals from becoming officers in the ZPD."

On the other end of the line his sister started throwing a coughting fit.

And for a split second he wondered if she was actually choking and needed help, until she finally stopped and asked with a now fairly rough voice.  
"You WHAT?!"

* * *

Authors Note:

So I had writers block and things took a while but here is another chapter.  
I also am not really happy with this chapter in the way that it is but I can't get myself to put it in better words for some reason.  
So this is it, I took me more than a week to get this done and that is most certainly far too much for just this much text.  
Especially since I got the whole plot planned out

I dont know for which if my stories I will write something next and when I will have the time to do so.  
Again, I apologize for the mistakes I may have made as I wrote this on a phone and proofreading on a phone is always a bitch.

Also I want to get to know more people in the fandom, if you feel like it please PM me and we can have a friendly chat.

At Guest: Thanks for your review random stranger, I appreciate you liking my story.


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